Graduation Ale

Beer Name: Graduation Ale
Brewery: Northampton Brewery
ABV: 5.6% (I think...)
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

A beer brewed with raspberries and strawberries? Sure, sign me up. From the name, I'm assuming this beer is brewed in late April or early May to coincide with college graduation.

Graduation Ale is an orange colored beer with a very thin head and almost no lacing. I find that to be par for the course for fruit beers, so I'm not going to stress about it. The raspberries and strawberries are both very noticeable in the aroma, which is very nice.

I think this is the first beer I've had that uses strawberries, and they are pleasantly surprising. The beer is very drinkable, with just enough carbonation to keep it from seeming like a juice and fruit flavors that are present but not overly sweet or sticky. There's also just a little bit of a bitterness in each sip that works as a nice balance. Very easy drinking from the first sip until the last.

Final thought - This was a good beer, and it is one I'll have to keep in mind in future trips to the Northampton Brewery. At least future trips that occur in the spring.

-Jon

Black Mamba

Beer Name: Black Mamba
Brewery: Northampton Brewery
ABV: 3.8%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer seemed like a nice choice to accompany my lunch, and I'm always down for a stout.

Black Mamba was a very dark beer that arrived with only a light head. This was gone in a few moments, leaving just a faint lacing pattern behind. There was a nice aroma of malty chocolate and bitter coffee. The aroma persisted for the whole glass, and it was very pleasant.

This beer felt very light with each sip, with a mouthfeel to match. It had some faint chocolate flavors, but for the most part the main taste was a bitter coffee. Not too bitter though. The beer was very lightly carbonated, and had a bitter finish without much aftertaste.

Final thought - This was a nice, enjoyable beer to drink with a nice meal. Too bad it's not listed on the brewery's website, which makes me think it's not going to be around for the long haul.

-Jon

Tasman Red IPA

Beer Name: Tasman Red IPA
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
ABV: 6.75%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tumbler
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Tasman Red IPA is from the same series of beers as Third Voyage, at least if the bottle and label style is anything to go by. It has a crazy looking person on the bottle if you're looking for it.

Tasman Red is a very deep ruby colored beer that arrived with about a finger of head. This head was thick and fluffy, and it faded away slowly while leaving a heavy lacing pattern behind. Another plus was that this beer came in a clean glass, so I had nothing to complain about. There is a nice aroma of citrus and pine hops, and there is also some caramel malt to go with it.

This beer has a very big flavor, mostly hops but with some maltiness in there as well. I suppose it would be apt to call it a "bold" beer. The hops are probably the main flavor, but the malt has enough presence to avoid being overshadowed. The beer finishes bitter, with an aftertaste of lingering malt with a bit of hops. I had this on draft, and it seems like it would be much better this way than from the bottle. There's just something about it.

Final thought - I enjoyed this beer, and it was very good with food. It's sort of a mix between a red ale and an IPA, and there's noticeable contributions from both. I would probably be glad to drink this again if I see it out somewhere.

-Jon

Double IPA

Beer Name: Double IPA
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 7.8%
Serving method: 12-oz draft in a snifter
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

My phone refuses to recognize the word "snifter" as being a legitimate word. This thing needs a "Yes, this is a word and stop changing it to 'sniffer' every time" button. Admittedly, that name could use some work.

The Double IPA is a seasonal beer from The People's Pint. It arrived in its snifter as a amber-orange beer with just a little bit of head on top. This faded away fairly quickly, but did its best to cling to the sides in a heavy lacing pattern. Sadly, it was not very successful, but I believe that is because the glass was not properly rinsed as I was picking up just a very faint soapy flavor. We can talk about how soapy flavors in a beer can arise from either improper rinsing or over-fermentation, but that's really a topic for another day and another blog (like Mmmm, brewing, which I am trademarking right now). Bottom line is that without a properly cleaned glass, there isn't going to be any lacing, which is what happened here. On the other hand, the aroma of this beer is a super strong citrus hop, and it's fantastic.

Had this beer's flavor lived up to the aroma, it would probably be a new favorite. Alas, this was not to be. The beer has a pretty good flavor, but not as awesome as the aroma. It's not as citrusy as the aroma had led me to expect, and it could use just a little more maltiness for balance. As it is, there is a lot of bitterness without much flavor behind it at the end of each sip. Fortunately, the aftertaste is pretty mellow, so it doesn't drive you away. The light carbonation works well for this beer.

Final thought - This beer gets an A+ for aroma, but only a borderline B- in execution. I really should give it another try in my own glassware just to see what was going on in the soap department, so I'll keep an eye out for it at Ye Olde Package Store, aka Ryan & Casey's.

-Jon

Lubrication

Beer Name: Lubrication
Brewery: Clown Shoes
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on:

While I was reading up on this beer, I found a link about people who thought that it looked like there was a wang on the label because the robot on the label is holding a gasoline nozzle at its waist. Which reminds me that people are stupid and I hate them. So much...

Lubrication is a very dark beer. In the glass, it's basically solid black, but as it pours, you can pick out some ruby highlights if the light is right. It had a finger of fairly thick head that faded away in a few minutes, leaving a moderate lacing pattern behind. The aroma is roasted hops, which is an odd combination. It's probably more likely roasted malts behind the hops, but the only part of the malt I'm getting is the roasted part. This could be because I am brewing beer right now, and the malts in that one are super roasted smelling. Or possibly I burnt them. The point is, there is a serious roasted aroma going on right now.

The first sip is very good, and then the rest start going downhill. At first, there is a nice balance between the hops and the malt, and it's nice. Then the hop flavor sort of disappears, and the malt takes over. Normally this wouldn't be a major issue, but the malt flavor is a little too smokey, and it really dominates everything else. And not in a good way. The beer has light-to-moderate carbonation, and it finishes with a little bitterness. In a strange twist, the hops that disappeared earlier show up very faintly in the aftertaste.

Final thought - It starts off well, but all good things come to an end I suppose. This would be a good beer at a brewers' festival, as I think a few ounces would be delightful.

-Jon

East Chop Lighthouse Ale

Beer Name: East Chop Lighthouse Ale
Brewery: Offshore Ale Company
ABV: 4.7%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I wonder if this brewery really brews out in the ocean. Probably not. East Chop Lighthouse Ale is an American blonde ale, which means it's light in color, light in flavor, and malty. Well, at least in theory. Let's see how this one plays out.

East Chop Lighthouse Ale is a straw-colored beer, slightly cloudy, that poured with a thin, light head. This head faded pretty quickly for the most part, although it left a small ring around the top edge of the beer. There is a strong malty aroma here, possibly pale malt (which would make sense, given the color of the beer). It also has a hint of a grassy aroma.

The flavor of this beer almost feels like it could be from Magic Hat (that's a good thing in my book). The maltiness is the main flavor, although there's also a nice grain component to it as well. It's very light feeling, but there's still quite a bit of flavor, unlike some other very pale colored light beers. The finish is fairly sweet, and it has a very faint aftertaste of malt.

Final thought - This is a nice enjoyable light-drinking beer. It's light flavor and low ABV make sure that you can drink it without any worries about drunken repercussions. If you like really light beers, this one should get a try.

-Jon

Vermont Spruce Tip

Beer Name: Vermont Spruce Tip Ale
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 3/15/12

This is beer #39 in the Harpoon 100 Barrel Series. That could mean that by the time you've read this, there won't be any left. It's also a tricky one to find, which makes things even tougher.

Vermont Spruce Tip Ale is a deep amber colored beer. It poured with very little head, and that little bit faded very quickly. It also didn't leave much lacing behind. The aroma here isn't nearly as piney as I was expecting it to be based on the name of the beer. It was more of a malty aroma, with some caramel and breadiness.

This beer is not nearly sprucey enough to live up to its title. It's much more of a malty beer, with very little in the hop or spruce category of flavors. There are also some spice flavors in there, but I can't really pick out which ones they are specifically. The beer has only a hint of carbonation, and no bitter flavors. It finishes with a light sweetness, and a mild aftertaste of malt.

Final thought - Vermont Spruce Tip Ale is a nice, easy drinking beer with a very smooth mouthfeel. However, it doesn't taste piney or sprucey or really like any kind of evergreen, and that was the main reason I was interested in it. If piney hops are enjoyable, then straight-up pine should be enjoyable as well. Well, in theory at least. In the end, this is a pretty good beer that just doesn't match up to its name.

-Jon

Third Voyage

Beer Name: Third Voyage Double IPA
Brewery: Boston Beer Company
ABV: 8%
Serving method: 22-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This bottle has a whole bunch of numbers and letters on it, but none of them can be converted into any kind of date which means I have no idea what they are or when this beer was brewed. Third Voyage is a limited edition beer brewed in honor of Captain Cook's third voyage around the world or something and uses hops from the various areas he visited. Something like that. I read the back of the bottle, but I wasn't really paying much attention. I guess the history lesson will have to wait until another time.

Third Voyage is a fairly dark IPA, with a deep reddish amber color. It produced a whole lot of head that lasted for a very long time and left a lacing pattern that basically enveloped the entire glass. By the end of the glass though, some of that lacing had disappeared, leaving behind a fairly heavy pattern. The aroma has a good amount of hoppiness, but there's also a strong malt presence. The hop aroma fades pretty quickly, which is kind of surprising, especially for a double. I don't know what kind of effect that might have on the flavor.

The initial flavor here is bitter hops, mostly piney. There's also a lot of maltiness going on here as well, much more than most IPAs. Each sip starts off with a bitter punch, and then finishes with a caramel malt flavor, along with a bitter aftertaste. The carbonation is medium, and combined with the bitterness makes this beer a sipper.

Final thought - As a limited beer, this one works. I don't think that I would drink it regularly, but it was nice to see something new and experimental from this BBC. Maybe beers like this can get into their normal rotation and crap like the White Ale and Cranberry Lambic can hit the bricks.

-Jon

Hope Street Bitter

Beer Name: Hope Street Bitter
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 5.1%
Serving method: 16-oz draught in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I don't usually drink a lot of ESBs, but I don't really know why. Maybe I've been a little too focused on the IPAs and stouts. But I suppose that if I'm going to be a world-renowned beer expert, I need to expand my preferences. Just not white ales, because coriander is gross.

Hope Street Bitter is a light brown colored beer, sort of coppery. It didn't have much head when it arrived, but then again, it's an English-styled beer and those seem to be lacking in the head and carbonation departments. The aroma was hoppier than I was expecting, and also had some graininess and a little bit of malt.

I am not really sure what to look for in a bitter, so I'm not sure if this was a good representative of the style. It's a pretty light beer, with a little bitterness from the hops along with some bready flavors. There's also a sweetness to it. The beer is not very carbonated, so it's lacking something in the mouthfeel. The beer has a pretty noticeable aftertaste, but it's nothing bad.

Final thought - At first, this beer was nice and hoppy (without being too hoppy) and very enjoyable. As it warmed up though, the nice flavors disappeared and it became watery and sort of disappointing. Luckily, it's easy enough to drink that you can plow through it before it loses its appeal.

-Jon

Red Rock Ale

Beer Name: Red Rock Amber Ale
Brewery: Opa-Opa Steakhouse & Brewery
ABV: 6%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Born 11/5/11

I'm a little bit surprised that this beer hasn't been featured here before. Has it really been over 16 months since the last time I drank one? Time sure flies.

I was drinking these bad boys straight from the bottle, but I've had enough on draught to know some of the important details. Red Rock is a redding copper colored beer that has a little bit of head, but that's not really what it's all about. The aroma is a mixture of light hops and malt, and everything here seems to be in balance. Nothing too outstanding, but nothing bad either.

Much like the aroma, everything is here in balance. There are some nice malty flavors with very light hints of fruitiness. There are also some grassy hops, but nothing bitter. The whole thing has a little bit of a roasted or toasted flavor. Good carbonation for the flavors, and the beer is easy drinking.

Final thought - I like the Red Rocks, so long as they are nice and cold. This is not a beer that stands up to a temperature shift very well though, so be sure to keep them well refrigerated.

-Jon

Midnight Special

Beer Name: Midnight Special
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 8.4%
Serving method: An unknown amount in a snifter
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Yup, the beer was served to me in a snifter. I felt super classy. Unfortunately, I didn't feel like doing the necessary calculations to determine the volume of said snifter, so that particular value must remain a mystery.

Midnight Special is a very dark beer, practically black, that did not have much head on it, but the small amount that was there left a pretty heavy lacing pattern behind while sticking around for much of the glass. The beer has a very hoppy aroma, but doesn't have the malt that I was expecting from both the description and the style.

Wow, this beer packs a bitter punch. The hops from the aroma were not lying about the hoppiness of the beer. There is a little bit of malt in the background, but mostly you're looking at a big hoppy blast with every sip. The finish is a little bit dry, along with the bitterness. Despite all of that bitterness and dryness, the beer is still pretty smooth. It has a little bit of carbonation, so the whole thing is fairly easy drinking.

Final thought - This beer was a little too intense for me. It packed quite the hoppy punch, but it didn't have the malty balance that seemed to be called for. I think I'll stick to their Pied pIPA for my daily hop requirements in the future. This is not a beer for the faint hearted hop haters out there.

-Jon

The Buk

Beer Name: The Buk Pale Ale
Brewery: Wormtown Brewing Co.
ABV: 5.5%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

This beer marks the 100th beer review of the year, meaning I actually accomplished something I set out to do without giving up in the middle like I usually do after I get bored. Hooray! Go me!!

The Buk is a special beer from Wormtown that only seems to be available on draft in the more eastern portions of Massachusetts. Whatever, elitist jerks. It's a fairly light beer, sort of a golden amber color, more on the golden side. It has a fairly hoppy aroma, but also some wheat- or bread- or grain-like scents in there. It arrived with a good sized head that slowly faded, leaving some lacing behind.

I didn't know what exactly to expect from this beer, since "pale ale" encompasses a wide variety of flavors. Luckily, this one is technically an American pale ale, which is the type I prefer as they tend to be hoppier than their British counterparts. There's a nice balance of the hop bitterness with the grainy malts here, and the whole thing works well. The beer has a good amount of carbonation, which works well with the flavor and gives it a nice drinkable quality.

Final thought - I would drink this beer again. You know, assuming I can find it. It's possible that, after drinking the Hoptical Illusion, my palate was set up to enjoy this beer with its more balanced flavor. I think that I was going to enjoy it no matter what though.

-Jon

Fumata Nera

Beer Name: Fumata Nera
Brewery: High and Mighty Beer Company
ABV: Unknown
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I should probably be concerned that this beer is not even featured on High & Mighty's website. Does that mean that they aren't proud of it? Or that they don't want people to know about it because it didn't come out deliciously? Good thing I had already finished drinking it before I decided to read up on it.

Fumata Nera is Italian for "black smoke," which makes sense as this is a smoked rye beer. It's a very dark beer, but the degree of darkness is hard to specify because the restaurant is a pretty dark one. The beer arrived with very little head, but there was a think layer that stuck around for about half of the glass, and it left a good lacing pattern behind. There was a very strong aroma of smoked malts.

As expected, this beer's flavor was very much in the roasted department. I believe this is the kind of beer that Kate says tastes like meat. Lots of smokey malt flavor, and maybe a little bit of hops bitterness in there as well. This was a nicely drinkable beer that went along nicely with some food, but would have been enjoyable without it as well.

Final thought - Whether or not the brewery is proud of it, I would drink this beer again. I will throw in the caveat that it seems like a beer that is going to be more enjoyable on draft than from a bottle though.

-Jon

Leviathan IPA

Beer Name: Leviathan IPA
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 10%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Something on 10/15/11

After trying this beer at the Harpoon brewery, I was eager to get some of this particular Leviathan (it's a whole series of giant ABV beers) for home use. This turned out to be surprisingly difficult, as the only bottles I was able to find were all supposed to be consumed by April. 2011. As in, over half a year ago. I finally found some that had a date that was close enough, so I jumped at the opportunity.

The Leviathan IPA is a slightly cloudy beer with a golden orange color. It pours with a thin layer of surprisingly thick head. It fades fairly soon, but it leaves a nice lacing pattern behind. There is a strong hop aroma here, mostly piney hops.

Strong hop flavor here, but also a lot of malty flavors. It's slightly bitter, but it finishes with a combination of bitterness and sweetness with a light aftertaste. The piney hop aroma was an accurate precursor to the piney flavors present here. The beer is pretty smooth, with a light carbonation and a slightly creamy feeling to it.

Final thought - While obviously not as good as it was when it was fresh straight from the fermenter, this is still a delightful beer. But be careful, as it also will kick you right in the head with it's alcohol content. Ten percent is a pretty strong level for a beer that is pretty easy drinking (for an IPA). Watch yourself.

-Jon

Chocolate Stout

Beer Name: Chocolate Stout
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 2/15/12

I learned about this beer from the Friend of Harpoon newsletter, and then located it on my first try. That is probably the smoothest new beer experience I've had in a while. Too bad I can't find the same success as I look for Harpoon's latest 100 Barrel Series beer.

The Chocolate Stout is a very dark beer that looks solid black at first, but seems to be more of a very dark brown. It has a very thin head that fades almost immediately. The aroma is very chocolately, much more so than standard stouts. It's a combination of sweet chocolate, like a milk chocolate, along with a bitter chocolate smell, sort of like the stuff for baking.

With so much chocolate in the aroma, the flavor has a lot to live up to. Luckily there is a good amount of chocolate flavor in here. It's mostly a dark chocolate, with a bittersweetness to it. It also has a nice finish and aftertaste. The beer has little bit more carbonation than I was expecting, but it starts to mellow out after a few minutes. Unfortunately, the beer's flavor is better while it's cold, so letting it mellow out means letting it warm up, where the flavor does not improve.

Final thought - This is a bit sharp for a stout, and I bet it would be fantastic if they figured out some way to smooth it out. It has a very nice flavor, but I just want it to be smoother for each sip. Perhaps I'm just being picky.

-Jon

Grateful Harvest

Beer Name: Grateful Harvest Cranberry Ale
Brewery: Harpoon Brewery
ABV: 5.9%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Best by 2/15/12

It has cranberries. I would be willing to bet anything that it is going to be better than that simply awful Cranberry Lambic beer.

Grateful Harvest is an amber colored beer that pours with a very light head that does not last very long. There is a faint aroma of cranberries here, but if you're expecting something like the blueberry aromas in all those blueberry beers or the pumpkins in the pumpkin ones, it's not there. There is also a sweet aroma here, so this beer seems like it's going to be a malty one.

Well, there is a tartness that seems like it's coming from the cranberries, but there isn't really much of a cranberry flavor. It ends up just seeming like a sweet & sour beer, and it doesn't really work for me. There is a nice amount of maltiness, so there's that if you're into malty beers. Lightly carbonated, the beer has a nice mouthfeel, which is one of the only things it has going for it.

Final thought - It was nice to give it a try, but I doubt I'll ever have it again.

-Jon

Puffers Smoked Porter

Beer Name: Puffers Smoked Porter
Brewery: Amherst Brewing Company
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

From one dark beer to another, I followed my stout with a porter. As a matter of fact, I believe that stouts and porters were originally the same style of beer. Or not, as there is a lot of disagreement on this particular issue. We can agree on one thing though, and that is the both styles are dark and heavy in the roasted aroma department.

Puffers Smoked Porter is a very dark beer, bordering on black. It arrived with no head, and didn't leave any lacing on the glass. The aroma here is extra chocolatey, with strong roasted malt notes.

The roasted flavor here is the dominant one. There's some coffee and chocolate, and lots of roasted malt. This beer has a much more mild finish than the stout did, without the bitter finish. The whole pint was very smooth and uncarbonated, making it super easy drinking. As the beer warms up, a nice sweetness enters into the flavor.

Final thought - For a fairly low ABV beer, this one has a lot of nice things going on. I think it will be one of my top ABC choices in the future.

-Jon

Two Sisters

Beer Name: Two Sisters Imperial Stout
Brewery: Amherst Brewing Company
ABV: 6.7%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Amherst Brewing Company calls this an imperial stout, but at 6.7%, I'm not sure it's quite high enough to actually get the classification. But I guess if they want to call it imperial, so be it.

Two Sisters is, like many stouts, a very opaque dark beer. Also like many stouts, it came with only a thin layer of head that remained for about the first half of the pint. Some of the head clung in a light lacing pattern, but only very faintly. The aroma of this beer is a heavy roasted chocolate one.

The flavor is also heavy on the roasted characteristics, but the chocolate flavor isn't sweet chocolate. Maybe dark chocolate, or baking chocolate. There's also a little bit of bitterness at the finish. The beer has a low carbonation, and it works very well paired with some food.

Final thought - Although I really don't think this classifies as an imperial stout, it still works well as a normal stout. Getting the beer fresh from the actual brewery also makes a difference, so I don't know what this would be like if I got a growler and brought it home. I think I'll probably just drink it at ABC and get other stouts for at-home drinking.

-Jon

Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout

Beer Name: Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout
Brewery: Cape Ann Brewing Company
ABV: 7%
Serving method: 12-oz bottle in a pint glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

I hadn't tried a pumpkin stout before, but I like stouts and I like pumpkin beers so I figured this one was a no-brainer.

The Fisherman's Pumpkin Stout is a fairly dark beer about the same color as a cola. It poured with a light head that quickly faded away without leaving much of a lacing pattern. The aroma is hard to describe; there are certainly some pumpkin and spice notes, but there's also something that is not pleasing to my nose. It's almost like a medicinal smell.

At first, I did not like this beer at all. That medicinal aroma was also present in the flavor, and it made it very difficult to enjoy the beer. However, I drank a second bottle, and it did not have any medicinal aroma or flavor. It still wasn't very pumpkiny though, which is an issue for me. Since I had a six-pack of this beer, I drank a couple more bottles throughout the week, and found 2 more to be like the first beer and 1 more like the second. There is still one more bottle in the fridge. Overall, the beer has a creamy feel to it and is very easy drinking, regardless of its flavor. I'm really not sure what's going on with this particular brew.

Final thought - The beers that weren't so good were completely unenjoyable, but the ones that seemed to taste ok weren't bad. "Pumpkin stout" was sort of a misnomer, as this beer needed some more stout flavors and definitely could have used more pumpkin. With all the other pumpkin beers out there, I think I'll be passing on this one in the future.

-Jon

Natural Blonde

Beer Name: Natural Blonde
Brewery: The People's Pint
ABV: 4.6%
Serving method: 16-oz draft in a tulip glass
Born/Bottled/Shipped on: Unknown

Unlike Kate, I did not have to spite-drink both of my dinner beers.

Natural Blonde is an American Blonde Ale. Seriously, that's a kind of beer. I know, I'm shocked too. I thought it was a kind of girl. As the name would suggest, it's a light golden color and poured with about an inch of head. The aroma was a little bready with hops in the background. There were probably some other aromas in there as well, but my nose was pretty stuffed up by this point so it was tough to pick them out.

The flavor of this beer is very light, with just enough hops to keep it from being boring. There's a little bit of maltiness as well, but all the flavors are very subdued. It's mostly malty at the beginning, with the hops finishing things up with a crisp bitterness. The medium carbonation doesn't keep this from being a very easy-to-drink beer.

Final thought - This beer makes me think of what the Big 3's beers would taste like if they actually tasted good. Obviously it must be possible to produce a light, low ABV beverage that doesn't taste like garbage, so I'm not sure why they don't do it. And yet they still have like 95% of the beer market. I'm ashamed of people.

-Jon